2025 has been a year in which SoilSteam clearly moved from being a “promising technology” to a documented solution in real-world applications. We have experienced strong international interest, several important projects – and, not least, a clear direction: soil as a resource, not waste.

This was not just a demo – it marked that the market is now moving rapidly toward more circular solutions for soil management.

First major step in Sweden: EWGroup

In 2025, we took an important step into the Swedish market through our collaboration with EWGroup, which became the first operator in Sweden to implement the SoilSaver 20 at its facility in Flen. This marks the beginning of a broader commitment in the Swedish market, where the need for circular handling of soil masses and control of invasive species is growing rapidly.

Trafikverket and Svevia tested SoilSaver in a project in Umeå, Sweden

SoilSteam then entered into an agreement with Svevia and Trafikverket for the treatment and recovery of approximately 1,500 tonnes of soil masses infested with lupins in Umeå. The project was planned for completion during May–June 2025 and was described as SoilSteam’s first collaboration with Trafikverket in Sweden.

This sends a strong signal that our method addresses a growing need in European infrastructure projects: stopping the spread of invasive alien species while simultaneously reducing landfilling.

An international meeting place: SoilSteam Demo Day 2025

In the autumn of 2025, we gathered more than 200 participants from eight nations at Gjennestad in Vestfold for SoilSteam Demo Day. The event demonstrated how thermal treatment can transform contaminated or infested soil and peat into a valuable resource, both for construction projects and for greenhouse production.

Gavin Griffiths Group – Japanese knotweed and the first UK unit

In the UK, 2025 has been a breakthrough year. Together with the Gavin Griffiths Group, we have taken important steps to document effectiveness against Japanese knotweed. This work is linked to the launch of what has been described as the UK’s first steam treatment unit for soil at their facility in the summer of 2025.

This marks the beginning of a broader UK journey, where documentation and strong partnerships are central.

Our goal is to save as much soil as possible from being landfilled. During 2025, our fantastic customers used their SoilSaver machines to save more than 23,000 tonnes of soil from disposal. This took place in Norway, Sweden, and the UK. Without SoilSavers in the contracting industry, this would never have been possible. A huge thank you to everyone who made this happen 😊

Professional documentation and international relevance: Sardinia Symposium 2025

In September 2025, we also participated in the Sardinia Symposium, where we demonstrated how SoilSteam technology is already being used in practice across multiple segments – from road and construction projects to the reuse of growing media in greenhouse production.

For many, this comes down to a fundamental question: Is it possible to control pests and invasive species without destroying soil quality? Our experience and documentation clearly show that the answer is yes.

New applications: substrates and growing media

2025 has also been about growing media and circularity in greenhouse production. SoilSteam has published several articles on the reuse of substrates and how this can contribute to more sustainable production.

In the summer of 2025, we carried out our first research project documenting that peat and substrate products can be treated using our SoilSaver technology and reused instead of being replaced with new material. This represents a new way of thinking about circularity in international greenhouse production and will also lead to significant reductions in methane and CO₂ emissions.

New customers and new continents

The end of 2025 was intense. We held meetings with several stakeholders in greenhouse production, waste management, and the contracting industry across multiple countries. This resulted in several SoilSaver units being sold for delivery next year during the final months of 2025.

One of these units will be delivered to North America, becoming SoilSteam’s first machine operating outside Europe. This is a major milestone for SoilSteam.

What do we take with us into 2026?

2025 showed us three things very clearly:

1. The need for circular soil management is growing rapidly – across multiple industries at the same time.
2. SoilSteam is moving from “pilot” to “scalable practice.”
3. We have documented that soil steaming works – and people understand it. During 2025, we were contacted by more than 200 companies from 24 countries interested in SoilSteaming. We believe this strong interest will grow even further in 2026.

Thank you to our customers, partners, and everyone who met us in 2025 – we look forward to building further in 2026.
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

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“It is urgent that we think differently if we are to achieve the sustainability goals of 65% reuse of masses by 2035. By adopting this technology, we want to contribute to developing tomorrow’s solutions to save arable land while improving our existing products,” says Jakob Årsvold of Bergknapp.

Long-term innovator

Bergknapp has a clear ambition to be forward-thinking and do what makes sense for the environment. They are a company that thinks long-term and contributes to making cities greener and more sustainable. With solid ownership, curiosity about new solutions, and a willingness to lead the way in the industry, they make a significant difference on the path to a more sustainable future. “We have the ambition to be at the forefront when it comes to sustainable soil management, both for the company’s development and to be an inspiration for others,” says Jakob, owner and founder of Bergknapp.

Positive development in the soil industry

Bergknapp experiences that more of their industry colleagues also have sustainability high on their agenda now, which he finds very positive. “There have been significant changes in the industry in recent years,” says Jakob. He explains that it forces a more circular mindset and sustainable solutions. There is a greater focus on reuse and recycling than ever before. “The market leaders are now looking at investments in machinery and equipment that contribute to more reuse, and we are proud to be early adopters of SoilSaver, ends Jakob.

Sustainable mass management has been central to Bergknapp’s production for several years. Now, they are taking their sustainability efforts to new heights by using SoilSaver. By treating the soil with steam, this sterilization process will neutralize invasive alien species such as Japanese Knotweed and plant diseases. Bergknapp is now developing production lines to effectively reuse soil that would otherwise be lost. In this process, both eliminating weeds that would otherwise create significant problems and creating the potential to blend in different types of masses that do not function adequately as soil, can be achieved. In the long run, large quantities of soil masses can be delivered for sterilization at Bergknapp in Sandnes near Stavanger. The machine is also mobile and can be placed wherever desired in the future. In larger projects, this means huge amounts of transportation can be saved by treating the soil locally.

Professional partnership

Jakob says that he immediately found SoilSaver exciting when he first heard about the machine last autumn. Since then, the two companies have maintained close contact. The companies have complementary expertise on both sides. “The partnership with SoilSteam is a win-win: we get a Norwegian professional partner with competent expertise in mass management, and they get an industrial partner that is serious about sustainability,” says Jakob.

Soil is a valuable resource that is the fundament for more than 90% of the food we eat. For way too long it has been polluted and degraded to landfills. Now we have developed a machine that can stop some of this degradation. It is great that we have innovative customers like Bergknapp that adopt new technology and take the industry in a more sustainable direction says Hans Kristian Westrum, CGO and founder of SoilSteam.

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1. Soil steaming makes it possible to care for and recycle topsoil.
2. Soil steaming removes pests from the soil without the use of chemicals.

We feel confident that the world needs an alternative, chemical-free way to kill unwanted weeds and harmful organisms in soil. All macro trends point in the same direction. The first draft of a new soil law in the EU will be published in 2023. Topsoil should not be taken for granted, and it is rising higher and higher on the agenda. Topsoil supports 90% of our food production. For far too long, we’ve taken it for granted. Now the warning lights are flashing, and the world is taking topsoil seriously.

We have tested our equipment in cooperation with partners in Norway, Spain, and the USA. The reality we face is dramatic. The authorities want to reduce the agricultural use of chemicals, but farmers have become dependent on these products. On top of that, the world needs to significantly increase food production to feed an ever-growing population. How can it be possible to satisfy all these needs at the same time? No one has yet discovered a definitive answer, but it’s probably reachable by taking many small steps. Two of these steps are taking care of the topsoil and making sure that it is of the highest possible quality. We know that Soil Steam can play an important role in this area.

From concept to testing in 2022

We have built an impressive robot that we called FieldSaver. This is a machine that combines our expertise in steam and biology with modern robotic technology. It is the first machine in the world to offer precision steaming. This means that we only use steam exactly where the plants or vegetables will stand. In this way, we reduce energy consumption and cost by up to 75% and increase speed accordingly. An important question is whether steaming of limited areas is sufficient. We’ve tested that out. Precision steaming has been tried out with some of the leading fruit and vegetable producers in the world – and it works! Now we are working on further adaptations to produce the best possible machine for precision steaming. The potential is huge!

In 2022 our SoilSaver went through long-term testing. First, it was tested for three months right outside our warehouse. Now, for the past four months, it has been tested in the field by our partner Lindum. The results of the long-term testing are so good that we decided to start a series production of the machine. The first machines have been sold to Envir and are currently under production. This is a huge milestone in Soil Steam’s history!

The SoilSaver is also important from an environmental perspective. The machines Soil Steam will deliver in 2023 will have the capacity to process 20 tons of soil per hour. This means that each machine can process up to 50,000 tons of soil a year. That’s the equivalent of 2,500 truckloads! The landfill is the only alternative for the soil that our machines can now process. Landfilling of soil involves a lot of heavy transport and takes that soil out of the cycle. This is not sustainable given that it takes more than 500 years for nature to make one centimeter of new topsoil. Our machines will be able to prevent enormous amounts of valuable soil from ending up in the cemetery. It is with good reason that we call the machine SoilSaver.

Thank you to everyone who made a difference in 2022

We need to say a little about the market and the situation in the world as well. The turmoil in the world has affected many sectors by causing delays in the deliveries of products and parts. It has also affected us but to a small extent. Here, our skilled employees should be praised for good planning and follow-up. We are also thankful for everyone who has helped us during this period of turbulence in the financial markets. Many start-ups have a very difficult time raising capital in today’s market. We are very pleased to have a strong board of directors and predictable, long-term investors cheering us on. We are proud to have just finished raising capital of NOK 40 million without the help of financial brokerage. This both shows great trust from our owners and demonstrates that we are a strong organization worthy of that trust.

HOWEVER, there’s one group we really are dependent on: our employees. Without them, SoilSteam would be nothing. Our employees are the heart and lungs of our company. In a startup, you must be able to put on several hats and go the extra mile every time it’s needed. All the employees take on everything they are asked to and are willing to go above and beyond. You, the heart of the Soil Steam family, are the reason why SoilSteam will have a role in taking care of the world’s topsoil. Thank you so much! You guys are making a difference. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all. Let us hope for peace in the world next year and for soil to be high on the agenda.

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Therefore, it is a great pleasure to give some more information about the board.

Einar Abrahamsen is the chairman. Even though he is retired as a lawyer now, he is a highly active chairman of the board.  Normally he starts the day around 0530-0600, and our CEO normally has received the first round of emails before 0630. He is a large owner and has been a board member of the successful Norwegian paint company Jotun for many years and has been an active investor for a long time. All this experience is of great value when mapping the road for Soil Steam International. Einar has promised to sit as the chairman until the end of 2021, but we hope we will manage to encourage him to be an important part of SSI for many more years. Einar has been involved in the company since January 2019 and became chairman at the end of 2019. Einar and his family have become a considerable owner of the company also.

Hans Kristian Westrum has together with Einar Abrahamsen (chairman) been focused on establishing a strong team with expertise in business development, agriculture, finance, engineering, and international business.

Our CEO, Hans Kristian told Einar that he had heard many good things about a gentleman called Ben Guren, and asked if Einar thought it would be a good idea to ask him to join us. Einar thought that was an excellent idea. He knew Ben from the time when Ben was CFO in Jotun! Ben has been working as an auditor in KPMG for 18 years and been part of their management team. After that, he has been working as CFO in the Norwegian Apparel company Helly Hansen and Jotun. When he was CFO in Jotun, he was working closely with Einar. Ben has also been working as CFO in the Danish company FL Smidht which is listed on the stock exchange in Copenhagen. Today Ben is the CEO of Permian Gruppen where he is one of the original founders. Ben is a board member of a few other companies as well and it is his engagement in sustainability which made it easy for Ben to join our board. We are incredibly happy that 😊 Ben has invested in our company.

At the same time, as we engaged Ben, we also knew that we needed to strengthen our financial control and routines. As Soil Steam still is a small company, we have a small administration. Our intention when we involved Bård Kjetil Erdvik was that the board and the administration would get much better control on the finance and accounting. Bård Kjetil has a master degree in Finance from NHH and has been working within finance in large Norwegian companies such as  Nordea and Orkla Finans. Today he is CEO of Sandvik Kaldnes. Bård Kjetil has been a close friend to our CEO, Hans Kristian for more than 30 years and also knew Hans Kristian’s father, Kjell, who started the whole project with soil steaming, 25 years ago. Since then he has been following the project from the side, and now he is one of us! Bård has also invested in the company.

We mentioned earlier that there is only one person from the old founders which still is in our board. This is Arvid Laksesvela who is one of the 3 farmers who started everything back in the 1990 ties. He has been working as a farmer for 30 years and at the same time being a highly active person in the agriculture production in Norway. He had many different roles within the industry and knows everyone within the vegetable, berry, and fruit production in Norway. His great practical insight is of great value to the board.

Marianne Strøm is our first female board member! For a long time, we have been addressing this problem and we wanted to create a better gender balance.  Marianne was the perfect match for us. She has a master’s degree in agriculture and has for many years been working as an Advisor in Norsk landbruksrådgiving. Her network and knowledge combined with her curiosity and challenging approach make her an exciting contribution to our board. Marianne has already invested in SSI.

In a board that has great knowledge about finance, business development, law, and the agricultural industry there was one thing missing. We did not have the quality we wanted within engineering and great experience in how to take a product from the planning stage to the final product ready for serial production. More than once the board of SSI has made decisions without enough competence regarding the timeline and complexity in product development. We wanted to find the best person to fill our gap here. When seeking a person with this engineering competence who also has skills and expertise to strengthen our global industrial process, there were not many people we could find.. Well, we found one. His company is most famous for designing and making fast cars and boats (such as Koenigsegg and Hydrolift), but that is only a small part of the line of products that Bård Eker and his team have been part of. They have taken many Norwegian products from idea level to mass production. And maybe the coolest part of this is that when Bård was asked about this he told us that he was planning on contacting us when he first time read about us! He has developed so many different products and designs, but never been part of the development of something which is this important! It is a great pleasure to welcome Bård Eker to our Soilsteam family. We know that you are a busy man and have many projects, so we must warn you. Working in SSi is not normal work. Working in Soil steam International AS is a lifestyle 😊

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Even though Soil Steam International AS was established in February 2016, this story starts a long time before that. Kjell Westrum, Arvid Laksesvela and Olav Wirgenes were all farmers and were running their own farms. They were also active in the organizations representing the growers of Norwegian vegetables. There were many trips around in Norway controlling harvests etc. It was under these trips they started to discuss alternatives solutions to fight fungi, weeds, and other harmful pathogens in the soil. After a while, they hooked up with other people both in Norway and in Holland and they found out that steam has been used as a method of controlling specially weeds problems for many years before the chemicals came. They started to do some research around this and wanted to go further. Sometimes in the 1990ies, they built the first simple soil steam equipment. You can see it in the pictures. It was a very simple unit based on simple principles…. But it worked… It was slow and ineffective, but it worked. They did tests together with Planteforsk (today Nibio) which documented that their simple prototype was effectively reducing the weeds and fungi in the soil. The equipment was not effective, and it was difficult to handle, but that did not matter now. The most important was that it worked!

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